Rosetta Stone
by Nes Mikel
Summary: AU: Three children. One ANBU squad. All on the verge of breaking down. How they understood each other, however, was nothing like they'd ever imagined. [Warning: Dark Theme, OOCness]
1. Sasuke

"_**Rosetta Stone"**_

_By Nes Mikel_

_Acknowledgment;_

_I herby acknowledge that the work of fiction presented here is for my own personal amusement and entertainment purposes alone. Most of the story, characters, place names and other etc stuff in this fiction are copyright Naruto, Kishimoto Masashi, Weekly Shounen Jump, and any others I might have forgot. _

* * *

"_**Rosetta Stone"**_

* * *

_We were similar, us three. _

_We were all orphans. _

_We were all gifted. _

_The same people raised us all. _

_And together, as a team, we grew stronger. _

_However, it occurred to me one day. _

_The way we think. _

_How we carry ourselves in battle. _

_The reasons for why we fight. _

_We were different, us three. _

_I had thought then it was the way it was meant to be. _

_But I was wrong. _

_It was only later when I realized. _

_He and she were similar. _

_And I was the only was that was different. _

* * *

_**- Part One - **_

'_**Sasuke' **_

* * *

There were two people under the tree.

One, a child. The other, a young man.

The child, with his flowing black hair, was in deep thought, sitting lazily on top of the highest branch. The young man sat at the base of the tree, reading some scroll, letting the wind gently rock his silver hair back and forth.

There was no conversation. Only the bright moon high above in the sky bore witness to their silence.

_How much time had passed? _The child wondered. He moved for the first time in what seemed like decades and glanced down at the silvery youth beneath him.

"Hey, what do you think of those two?"

In reply to his question, the youth raised his head and exchanged glances with the child above the tree. Seeing his bored eye the child gave the youth the thinnest of smiles. It was not a smile that the child usually gave. Somewhere deep within that expression, there was a touch of ice, a hint of cold.

The youth's eyes moved away from the odd smile as he rolled up his scroll and slowly stood. Then, as if ignoring gravity, he jumped. He landed on the same branch besides the child without the barest hints of sway.

The silver-haired youth spoke. "Naruto and Sakura?"

"Yeah."

The youth hesitated for a moment as he paused the conversation to think.

"Naruto is too unbalanced, whereas Sakura… she's _too_ balanced. Of course, the same could be said for you too."

It was the answer the child expected from him. The child narrowed his eyes, and glared at the youth as if demanding him the answer to his answer.

The youth noticed this and laughed uneasily. He gave his answer.

"You know, when the Third gave me orders to be you three's instructors, I was actually angry, you know? Why do I, the 'Hatake Kakashi', a ninja whose name is known across all countries, have to be a babysitter for three brats? So, to tell you the truth, I thought I might just let you three die and get it over with."

The child did not look surprised. For a confession that was so shocking, it was as if the child knew from the start that it was the youth's intention all along.

"It doesn't bother you."

It was not a question, but a statement.

"Not really." The child replied. "I knew from the start that you disliked us… no, rather, you dislike the people in the village. Not that I care to understand why you feel that way."

The youth continued to grin.

"Oh really…"

An image of his father flashed briefly in the youth's mind. His father, the one who was forced into suicide by the cowards that accused him of being a failure.

"Well, what did you guys think of me, then?" The youth asked.

"What do you mean?" The child's brows furrowed at the youth's sudden question. The black-haired child was frustrated; the young man had essentially avoided his question.

Ignorant of his thoughts, the silvery youth continued with his question. "Well, the way I recommended you three into ANBU when you guys were just seven years old."

"I think nothing of it." The child said. "Isn't it obvious? Itachi murdered my family, my clan. For someone like me who wished revenge, the offer was something I couldn't refuse. But…"

The child's words drifted, then stopped. The youth wondered what had happened and studied the child's expressions, but he was cut off when the child continued.

"To be honest, I was against in Sakura joining the ANBU."

"Sakura?"

The youth's eyes widened suddenly, as if he was not expecting that answer. The child did not look bothered and continued with his explanation.

"She doesn't have a reason, right? For me, in order to take my revenge on Itachi, I had an ambition to be strong. And for Naruto, he chose a path that would protect himself from the rest of the village. But Sakura… she doesn't have a reason to choose this path of shadows. She is only intelligent, more talented than the average girl… and for such a girl to travel the path of blood and malice and into the life of ANBU, I couldn't understand."

There was a slight pause.

"I had thought she would refuse, saying she couldn't do such things… so I didn't say anything. Naruto probably thought so too. Despite appearances, I know he's much smarter than me. So that's why we weren't opposed to the recommendations. But nevertheless, she agreed. It was her decision to join the ANBU."

The child bit his lip. Blood flowed from the new wound. Perhaps, perhaps this child was regretful. For not being able to stop an innocent girl from staining her hands with blood.

The youth besides him just stared. The child looked up and back into youth's eyes and recognized the emotion. The youth was not trying to think of words of comfort; instead, his eyes were as if telling the child that only he could find the answer.

Yes, the silver-haired man knew the answer. He knew the reason why the girl had chosen the path of darkness. However, it was not his responsibility to tell this child the reason. Only the girl could do that. And so, the youth did not tell the child.

Especially because the youth himself was the reason…

"Mind if we get back to the original subject?" The youth asked the child lazily.

"Hm." The child's tone was low. Most likely he was still thinking hard about the words from before. But even if the youth realized the child's inner turmoil, he ignored it as he began to speak again.

"Still, you know, you guys went beyond my original expectations. You want to know my first impressions of you three?"

It was spoken in a teasing tone. It gave the child discomfort, but he only thinned his lips to let show. The child gave the youth a curt nod, urging his teacher to go on.

"Naruto… well, he was as I expected, being the container of the Kyuubi in addition of being that man's son. Those eyes, those untrusting eyes, gave me the shivers. And Sakura. She was just an ordinary girl; so ordinary she was still playing with dolls. I thought she was… unsuited for the project to raise the perfect shinobi out of children that were only slightly more gifted than others. And you. Eyes filled with vengeance, the sad child who had everything taken away from your older brother Itachi. I was excited imagining just which path you would take."

The child made a face at his words. He felt that last part was unnecessary.

The young man never missed a beat. "Did I make you angry?"

"Not really…"

The child couldn't be bothered to get angry. Knowing this man, there would be no end to snide insults. If he constantly got angry at such trivial things, the child knew it would only ruin him.

"Well then, now that I'm done with introductions-"

"Took you long enough."

The man chuckled at the stab, but otherwise ignored it. "It was unexpected, you know? The one I thought who had no hesitation in killing people – Naruto – hesitated the most. And the one I thought who had the most hesitation in killing people – Sakura – didn't hesitate at all. You, I guess you were somewhere in-between. You had hesitation at first, but you don't think of it anymore, do you? But Naruto is different. He still hesitates, he still feels guilty. Do you remember?"

Of course he did.

* * *

That day, the child, along with Naruto and Sakura, was taken by the same young man and was running through the thick darkness.

Until today, their jobs were mainly along the lines of information and espionage, gathering information, still yet to be assigned to the 'other' jobs. Perhaps the upper brass had taken into consideration that they were still children, still young and innocent. Or perhaps, they were still deemed as too week. Either way, today, it was different. They finally were assigned one of the 'other' jobs.

When he first heard of his new assignment, the child did not feel a thing.

_Finally. _

That was as much as he felt.

Perhaps he was too young back then to even understand what it meant to kill people.

The young man stopped running and stood still, concealed inside the tall shadows of the large oak tree. He raised his gloved hand and pointed at a large traditional mansion.

"That's our target. The master of the house has his hands in illegal trafficking of stolen goods, and at the same time is acting as an informant selling Konoha's military secrets."

"So we just have to kill everyone, women and children included, right? To make them an example of, to show the others what would happen if they should try something like this again."

It surprised the child. It was Sakura that spoke. He expected her to be the one that would drag them all down. Instead, she acted as if were a true shinobi, her tone, so emotionless, so cold…

Dammit, she was serious.

Unaffected, the young man only nodded. "Correct."

"Let's go, then." She said. Ignoring the fact that the youth was her superior officer, she jumped forward, stealthily approaching the mansion without waiting for the orders for attack.

Slightly startled, the child and Naruto exchanged glances and followed her trail, the young man not too far behind.

There was really no reason for the young man to follow. Today, his mission was simply to observe if these children would indeed prove useful. He would not interfere even if their lives were in danger, especially because the young man felt tried at this… this _babysitting _mission that was nothing more than a thorn in his side. True, he wouldn't probably feel anything if they had died. In fact, he would most likely be glad he got rid of them.

A flicker. A shadow of man.

There was someone in front of Sakura.

_The mansion guard? _The child and Naruto moved into intercept before the guard could attack, but…

_SPLAT. _

Blood flew.

…_Sakura… _

…_Sakura…? _

The child almost doubted his very own eyes.

She had killed, just like she said she would. No hesitation. Clean stroke.

Her face, void.

The girl standing in front of him, the girl he knew almost all of his life, was no more.

What was standing in front of him was one perfect shinobi.

"Let's go."

Even her voice was toneless as she continued forward.

They could only follow her in silence.

They entered the mansion, and the curtain of tragedy rose.

* * *

_In front of them was a girl, beautiful as the mythical moonlight reflected off her pink hair. _

"_Haruno Sakura" _

_Inside her heart there was only one thing. One person. _

_In order to walk the same paths at him, she was here. _

_There would be no regrets, no matter how many times she stained her hands with blood. _

_There would be no regrets, especially in front of 'that' man. _

_Never, in front of the man who tries to steal her precious person away… _

* * *

_Next in line was a boy with stark raven hair, his blood red eyes full of hatred and revenge. _

"_Uchiha Sasuke" _

_Inside his heart there was only one thing. One person. _

_That hatred against that man, the man who had robbed of his parent's life, the brother that had disappeared in front of him. _

_There would be no regrets as he stained his hands with blood, as long as he killed him in the end. _

_He would walk any path; take any opportunity as long as he killed him in the end. _

_But doubt filled him. His bloodstained hands – is he not the same as his brother? _

_Doubt consumed him. But he slashed it out as his blade descended into his victims. _

_He wielded his blade as if to slash away his doubt… _

* * *

_The last was another boy, with golden hair and sea-blue eyes. _

"_Uzumaki Naruto" _

_Inside his heart there were many things. _

_The memories the Kyuubi showed him. The memories of robbing the lives of many. _

_The memories of robbing the life of his father. _

_The memories carved a deep shadow within his heart, and gave him hesitation in taking another life. _

_However, on the other hand, there were his own memories. Memories of abuse. Memories of isolation. _

_Memories… memories of loneliness. _

_The days carved a deep shadow within his heart, and gave him hatred to life itself. _

_The two thoughts within collided, and the collision only served to dull his blade… _

* * *

_There was a shadow that watched over the three. Their observer, their mentor. _

"_Hatake Kakashi" _

_His lips were loose in a crooked grin. _

_He was enjoying the show. As if he were a child that was given a brand new toy. _

_For him, it was indeed like so. _

_For in this battle, the children, they had all shown him a side he never knew. _

_Yes, they would do. _

_They were going to give him something to do. _

* * *

"…I liked it back then."

"Hm, what do you mean?"

They were under the tree again.

"I still believed back then that… we were all different."

Kakashi tilted his head to the side. He didn't understand. If Sasuke noticed this, he didn't let it show.

"I thought we were all different. Me, Naruto, Sakura. But… I realized, only I realized. Naruto and Sakrua were similar, and only I was different."

Sasuke's face turned somber. He still continued.

"Naruto and Sakura… they're pure. They're like… snow, pure snow that has never been dirtied. Me on the other hand, I'm stained. I'm consumed with vengeance against Itachi. I'm… I'm a stained existence."

"So?"

"…What?"

"That's what makes you 'Uchiha Sasuke', right? Then why doubt? The reason why 'Uchiha Sasuke' is 'Uchiha Sasuke' is because of vengeance, no? To kill the man who had taken everything from you, to kill Itachi. Isn't that enough? So why doubt otherwise?"

Sasuke, still so young, racked his brain for an answer. But he never found it. And so, he let his shoulders slump downward and opened his mouth again to speak the words as it came.

"Yeah… you're right. I know it is vengeance that makes me "Uchiha Sasuke". But, looking at them… it… it makes me jealous. I… I wish sometimes that… I could be like them."

He spoke too much. He muttered a silent 'tsk' before he jumped up and disappeared completely into the darkness.

Kakashi never missed seeing the small tear in his eyes.

For someone like him who had already dried up all reserves of such emotion, it made him laugh. Not for his tears, but for the doubt the child had confessed to him.

_Sasuke knows nothing. _

_Out of the three, he is the most pure. _

'_Pure snow that has never been dirtied?' _

_Those two? _

_You've got to be kidding me. _

Kakashi only smiled.

* * *

"_**Part One"**_

_**-END-**_

* * *


	2. Sakura

"_**Rosetta Stone"**_

_By Nes Mikel_

_Acknowledgment;_

_I herby acknowledge that the work of fiction presented here is for my own personal amusement and entertainment purposes alone. Most of the story, characters, place names and other etc stuff in this fiction are copyright Naruto, Kishimoto Masashi, Weekly Shounen Jump, and any others I might have forgot. _

* * *

"_**Rosetta Stone"**_

* * *

_My story is like a fairytale. _

_Born as a tool, bound to die as a tool. _

_I was doomed to a life of darkness. _

_But from out of that pit of insanity, I found you. _

_And you saved me from the pit of sanity. _

_Your chest, like the warm earth. _

_Your eyes, like the night forest. _

_Your voice, like a winter storm. _

_Your hands, like a black bed. _

_Your heart, like a silver lion. _

_Please listen. _

_To my story. _

_My dear. _

_Dear. _

_Prince. _

* * *

_**- Part Two - **_

'_**Sakura' **_

* * *

He had felt his presence almost instantly. The black-haired youth stopped walking and slowly turned around. He sent a wave of killer intent at a stone pillar that otherwise looked totally in the ordinary. But he knew better.

Indeed, the man who hid himself behind the pillar slowly emerged from behind and gave him the best of smiles.

"Just coming back from work?" The man with silver hair happily asked.

"Don't try playing innocent with me."

Just for good measure, the black-haired youth, Iruka, sent another wave of killer intent at Kakashi that would've sent an ordinary man cowering away in fear. Too bad the man in front of him was no ordinary man; Kakashi instead brushed aside the malice and joyfully approached him instead. Iruka's brows furrowed in annoyance, but he did not bother trying anything else. He thought it was probably useless anyway.

"You're no fun, as usual."

"Do you think I find it fun when I'm attempted to be sexually assaulted by another man?"

"Well, I found it quite entertaining…"

"Oh, is that so? Then perhaps I could recommend a few people who might be keen in returning your feelings? Do not bother me with your attempts when you know I don't like it."

"So cold. I'm told you that I wouldn't be with anyone else but you, no?"

Iruka ignored him. He simply turned away and attempted to walk away from this stupid excuse of a human being.

However, Kakashi wasn't about to let go so easily. He called after him.

"You know, I was assigned an interesting mission today."

It worked. It froze Iruka in his tracks and made him turn back around.

"What did you say?"

Kakashi smiled. "Never thought you would take interest. Perhaps you are involved in this mission somehow?"

"Not really… I only know of the mission. It's just I have doubts in why you had even _accepted_ this mission in the first place."

Iruka's glare had intensified, and for a moment it had actually paralyzed Kakashi on the spot. Nevertheless, he was an experienced ANBU member himself, he eventually shook it off and his bright smile returned.

"Well, I thought it might be something appropriate to do to kill my time."

"Just so you can alleviate your boredom, you kill children?"

"Kill children? That's harsh."

"I know you would."

Kakashi laughed uneasily. He knew all this might eventually get him killed, but he couldn't stop his teasing. Iruka was the only one who could ruffle his heart like so.

"Who are they?"

The question caught Kakashi slightly off guard. "Pardon?"

"The children you were assigned to."

This brought another smile to Kakashi's face. "You're curious?"

"Somewhat. To be assigned to you, they must be quite talented. The upper brass knows of your personality well enough."

Kakashi shrugged off the subtle insult and instead intensified his bright smile. "Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura."

"…………"

It was only for an instant, but Kakashi could've sworn that a hint of worry crossed over Iruka's face.

"What's the matter?"

"No, it's nothing." Iruka answered as if truly nothing had happened.

Kakashi knew better. He decided to probe in a bit further.

"I never thought I would be the one to teach the _jinchuuriki _of the Kyuubi."

"Oh really?"

_No change. _

"And I thought it was so ironic I would be the one who be instructing the last of the Uchihas"

"If you let him die, it would be messy later."

_Thanks for the warning. _

"But then again, what surprised me the most was that some girl who doesn't hail from any noble family was included in this project."

"Probably…"

It did not escape from Kakashi at how Iruka's tone of voice wavered the slightest bit.

_Ah ha, bingo. So it's Haruno Sakura. _

"What are you getting at, Kakashi…?"

With a look of distrust clearly in his eye, Iruka was staring directly at Kakashi demanding an answer. Kakashi was no longer smiling like he were teasing someone; instead, somewhere in his smile there was hint of ice, and it was discomforting for Iruka. And, at that same time, a wave of bad feeling washed over him.

"No, no, it's nothing. Just saying."

"…………"

It was obvious to Kakashi that Iruka didn't trust him one bit.

Perhaps he didn't know what to say.

Indeed, Iruka didn't know what to say to this enigma of a man. Rather, if he had said something inappropriate, it was probably dangerous. He didn't know _what_ was dangerous, but it was his gut feeling that was telling him so.

"Well then, I suppose I will take my leave now."

The masked young man turned around, ready to leave, but it was unexpectedly Iruka that stopped him.

"I _will_ kill you."

"Wha?"

Just as Kakashi turned around to ask what Iruka meant by that, a kunai sailed right past his face and drew blood from his right cheek. The man who had thrown the kunai looked straight ahead and calmly muttered the next few words.

"I said… that if you try anything funny on those children, I will _not_ forgive you."

"Why? It doesn't concern you, does it?"

"It does concern me, they are an important asset to this village. I don't want to see them lost just because of one man's _hobby_."

"Hobby? That's not a nice way to put it…"

"It's the truth, isn't it?" Iruka turned to his back. "Don't forget what I said."

The black-haired man disappeared from view.

Left alone, Kakashi was grinning from ear to ear.

_Haruno Sakura, huh…? _

_I thought she was just some ordinary girl, but guess not… _

_Nonetheless, it she's related to him, then perhaps… _

_No, it's too early. _

_First I need to find out who she is… _

_I don't want him hating me just because I let her die straight away… _

_Then again it might be amusing to be hated by him. _

He chuckled happily to himself. He was happy imagining at the way things would prove interesting from now on. At first he was uttery annoyed for having forced into this 'babysitting' mission, but thanks to Iruka, he was now actually interested. Still, it was true that rather than teaching them (letting them live), it was preferable to just kill them (letting them die)…

He decided right there and then, that he would wait until he saw those three children kill for the first time.

* * *

After departing from the scene, it didn't take Iruka long until he arrived at the place where he promised her they'd meet.

She was already there.

"Sorry, did you wait long, Sakura?"

She shook her head. "No, not really…" Her head then bowed down, and in quick steps she ran up to Iruka and embraced his waist. She was still too young and small.

Too innocent.

"Sakura, you-"

"…Yes, I've agreed to become part of the project."

"Why did you…?"

"Because I want to be besides you, Iruka-sensei."

"But…"

She glanced up. "Why can't I? I want to be next to you, Iruka-sensei. I don't want anyone, anything, take that away from me."

Iruka looked into her eyes. They were eyes of determination. There wasn't even a shadow of doubt within them.

Seeing this, Iruka sighed deeply.

"Isn't your instructor Kakashi…?"

"Yes, but… how do you know?"

"I met him just now."

Hearing his words, Sakura frowned.

Sakura did not like Kakashi. Her reasons were simple; it was because Kakashi was interested in Iruka. Her Iruka. It was not love, but only _interest_, a twisted form at that. He did not wish to claim, for what Kakashi wanted of Iruka was to possess. And Sakura hated Kakashi for that.

On the contrary, Sakura thought that Iruka was, in a way, similar to Kakashi. Sakura knew for a fact that she could never understand Iruka fully, for the darkness he holds within his heart was deep and would take an eternity to explore. And the darkness Iruka held was awfully similar to the darkness Kakashi held as well.

She knew only one thing for certain. Iruka's heart, it was frozen. The never-ending blizzard inside of him raged strong and stayed cold for as long as she could remember.

But Sakura was determined to change that. She would definitely find a way to warm that frozen heart again, to put an end to his inner-blizzard.

"Sakura?"

"Mm?"

"Is something wrong?"

"…No, nothing."

"Are you sure…?"

"Yes, of course!"

She hid her own expressions well. In front of Iruka, she would always be the "Haruno Sakura" he always knew. Never could she afford to show him _her_ dark side, her true reasons why she had volunteered for the project.

Him, that man.

Hatake Kakashi.

Kakashi could stay in that darkness for all she cared. She would bring Iruka to the light with her, together.

She would not lose.

She would not let him get in her way.

She would never be weak in front of him.

Never again.

* * *

"_**Part Two"**_

_**-END-**_

* * *


	3. Naruto

"_**Rosetta Stone"**_

_By Nes Mikel_

_Acknowledgment;_

_I herby acknowledge that the work of fiction presented here is for my own personal amusement and entertainment purposes alone. Most of the story, characters, place names and other etc stuff in this fiction are copyright Naruto, Kishimoto Masashi, Weekly Shounen Jump, and any others I might have forgot. _

* * *

"_**Rosetta Stone"**_

* * *

_Let us say… there is a murderer. _

_He knows he is guilty. _

_He must lie in order to survive. _

_If he fails, death awaits. _

_But can he do it? _

_He may be able to control his words. _

_But he must control his face as well. _

_One must know about your smiles. _

_One must know about your frowns. _

_For failure of facial control will result in the failure of words. _

_Look into the mirror, my friend. _

_Look deeply into the mirror. _

_See that, my friend? _

_Your face. _

_That, my friend, is the greatest weapon of deception. _

* * *

_**- Part Three - **_

'_**Naruto' **_

* * *

"Naruto, why are you smiling?"

"Hm? Oh, no reason, really."

"That's not fair, Naruto. It's no fun when you keep everything to yourself."

"It's nothing important, really."

"That's for me to decide. Not you."

"Fine, fine. As you wish, _princess_."

Naruto brought Hinata closer to his chest as he stared emptily at the night sky. There were in the middle of an empty grass field, those two, sharing in the comforts of their warmth.

"It's just that, whenever I think of Team 7…" Another chuckle escaped his lips. He couldn't help himself.

His chuckle, however, was not something cheerful and warm. It was tainted with dark humor.

Hinata noticed this and answered him in a coy smile.

"Yes, it's true, Team 7 is… _interesting._ For five whole years, from the time you were just seven years old, your team had been together as the 'perfect' shinobi team. But in the inside, there are cracks and tears; filled with love, hatred, and jealousy that keeps their relationships so strained it's always on the verge of breaking apart. It really is interesting. If I had known it would turn out like that, I would've volunteered myself for the project too…"

The blond-haired boy picked up the tiny tone of regret in there. Naruto laughed uneasily at that.

Hinata. On the outside, she was but a shy girl, a girl with no confidence. But here, in front of him, she was different. Who would've imagined it? She, the weak girl, would stop at nothing to enjoy herself in the slaughtering of enemies?

Naruto respected her. For someone like him who had always been shown the memories of the Kyuubi slaughtering countless villagers in its wake, he still hesitated when it came to taking another man's life. But she… she told him she felt _alive_ when she killed, about how it put her in absolute ecstasy.

He saw her once, fighting enemies. The way she moved gracefully, the way she handled her twin knives.

He thought she was most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"Iruka-sensei is loved by many, isn't he?"

She used the word 'love' casually, but Naruto knew she meant more than just that. "Yeah, guess so. What about you, do you like him?"

"Well… I respect him as a teacher. After all, I can't think of anyone else that would be best suited covered in blood…" She said, dreamily. Then she added, "Oh, Sakura-chan would look nice maybe, but Iruka-sensei is still the best."

"…Oh, really."

"Of course. He was the one that inspired me after all."

"Is that so… well, who do you love the most, then?"

She snickered. An expression that would've been unimaginable from the timid girl she acts. "The Hyuuga. Who else?"

"Right. Sorry."

The two exchanged a small laugh.

He pitied the Hyuuga. They were a pathetic clan, unable to see recognize the real potential in the girl and dismissing her as worthless. Had they raised her properly and let her succeed the house, they could've been elevated into the position of the strongest clan in the world, eliminating all enemies that stood in their way.

Instead, they unknowingly faced annihilation. The day they tried to embed the cursed seal in this girl's forehead just like that talented but poor branch-house boy, the history of the Hyuuga will be put to and end by the very same of the girl they had once called worthless.

He imagined the scene. It wasn't so realistic when he thought about it. What thrilled him was the prospect of what might happen as a result. What would Iruka do? What would he, himself do? Oh, it's going to be so much fun…

And so Naruto laughed again.

"I wanted to ask you something." She cut in.

"What?"

"Why do you put on an act? Not only in front of the village, but in front of your team, too."

"…No reason."

"I think you're lying. I mean, it's such a… waste not letting others show your true self."

"Well gee, thanks. But to put it in someone else's words, it's just too troublesome, you know? Imagine what'll happen if I showed my true self in front of the village. Everyone would scream bloody murder and come marching to my house with torches burning."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. I'll just kill everyone who'd try."

"I'll pray that wouldn't happen, then."

He was serious when he said so. Judging from Hinata's expression, Naruto was certain that she was pretty serious when she said she'd kill all the villagers. The scary thing was, he could imagine her doing such a thing. But was she just saying that because she loved bloodshed, of because she actually cared about him? He couldn't tell.

But that didn't matter. All he wanted was for her to be at his side. And that was the only thing that mattered.

"Well, why in front of your team, then?"

"You really want to know?"

"Yes."

"I just feel like it."

Her brows furrowed. "Naruto…"

"Hey now, don't get angry. It's the truth."

"What do you mean, then?"

"Well… let's put it this way. I'm just acting out the image they have of me."

"Image?"

"Right, the image Sakura has of me, Sasuke has of me, and Kakashi has of me. I act that image out."

"Why would you do that?"

"So I can keep the balance."

A look of understanding finally dawned on her. "Ah. I see."

"Yeah, you see? The structure of Team 7 is always unstable, and it could essentially fall apart any time. Especially because of Sakura and Kakashi, since they hate each other's guts. So that's why I act to keep the balance, so Team 7 can stay as Team 7."

"Must be stressful."

"You think so? I find it rather fun. Besides, I'd only let you see the real me."

"True. Only I would be able handle the real you."

"Yep. And only I would be able handle the real you, too."

The two laughed together.

Ever so cold, ever so deceitful.

The two shadows folded into one, and danced away into darkness.

* * *

"_**Part Three"**_

_**-END-**_

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **_

To be honest, I don't know what exactly came over me when I went astray from my main project (Medusa Javelin's Chapter Eight… coming so sloooooow) so I could write this… I really don't…

I myself find this story odd. It is very dark and creepy, nothing like the other stories I've written before, and honestly, I think it's rather… bad. Not to mention, the story has some very odd pairings (Kakashi x Iruka x Sakura in case you haven't noticed). Heck, I even included some yaoi elements in here too, and I usually hate yaoi outright. But I just found it… strangely appropriate in this story. I'm not even a fan of Naruto x Hintata too, and I even added a touch of Sasuke x Sakura as well, both of which I rather dislike. Bah, I don't know. I thought I might try something I never done before. I think it came out okay. Only reviews will tell on what the other's think of this strange piece of work.

The title of this story, 'Rosetta Stone', for those who do not know, comes from a stone by the same name. Perhaps one of the most famous written records of all time, the Rosetta Stone is the stone that features the repetition of the same text in three different scripts (hieroglyphs, greek, and one more language I can't remember) that finally allowed scholars to decode ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. This eventually led to better understanding of ancient Egyptian culture and their complex beliefs in the after-life. I found it somewhat appropriate to use that as a title for this story because it's between three different people and how they understand one another in this alternate universe setting. I hope I portrayed it well.

It also should be mentioned that the quote introduced in the beginning of Part Two has been taken (and edited) from a certain manga written by a certain author I am a fan of. If know which manga I'm talking about, then kudos to you, have a cookie! Okay, I have no cookies, but that's beside the point.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed it, and thank you for taking your time to read this story!

Laters!

- Nes Mikel

(07/03/06)


End file.
